Anish Kapoor sparks row over Camberwell studio plan which 'will turn homes into a prison'

Anish Kapoor: His plans have sparked a row in south London
PA Wire/PA Images
Rosamund Urwin30 May 2017

Turner Prize-winning sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor has come under fire from south London residents who claim plans to extend his studio will leave them feeling like they are “living in a prison”.

Kapoor — who co-designed the Orbit Tower in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park — wants to build an extra office floor above his workspace on Farmers Road in Camberwell, a converted dairy factory.

Documents submitted with the application to Southwark council say the space is needed to “expand the applicants’ capacity to produce work”.

However, opponents claim that the additional storey, clad in corrugated aluminium, will prevent light from reaching the houses opposite, impinge on the privacy of occupants and overshadow their gardens.

Nicholas Abrahams, a film-maker who owns a property on Camberwell New Road, told the Evening Standard: “I’ve owned this ground floor flat for 10 years. It will clearly affect the light coming in. If someone builds upwards, you have the sky blocked out and feel enclosed.”

A local resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “It will make [my flat] so dark and be so domineering that it will feel like we’re living in a prison.

Plans: Anish Kapoor wants to extend his studio by building an extra office floor above his workspace on Farmers Street, Camberwell

“Right now, I have nine windows at the back of my flat and I can see the sky from six of them. If they do this extension, I think I’ll be able to see a slice of the sky from only two.”

More than 130 people have backed an online petition titled “Stop Anish Kapoor stealing our light and colour!” to call for a public consultation.

A number of locals have also raised concerns on the planning portal of Southwark’s website, with one writing: “An artist who works with light and colour should know how depriving people of sunlight and daylight is not a good thing.”

Documents filed with Southwark council show that a shadow assessment has been carried out as part of the application. However, residents dispute its accuracy.

In a previous planning application, submitted in 2014, it was noted that raising the height of the building risked “creating a sense of enclosure” for the “dwellings and plots on Camberwell New Road”.

Mr Abrahams said: “We’d have expected someone to come around and assess the impact it would have on our properties. That hasn’t happened. That’s why we’ve started a petition to force that public discussion. These plans are inconsiderate to people who live here.”

A spokesperson from Southwark council said: “A decision has not yet been made but the usual consultation and planning process has been followed. Comments will be taken into consideration.”

The proposal has not gone before the council’s planning committee because the local ward members have not called it in. A decision is expected by June 2. A spokesperson for Sir Anish declined to comment.

Most of the buildings on Farmers Road are owned by Kapoor, who won the Turner Prize in 1991. The Sunday Times Rich List estimates his net worth at £134 million.

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